Running Form: Biomechanics, Efficiency, or your own "Authentic Run"?

I have a half-marathon coming up in 6 days, and my knee hurts today. I just figured it's from propelling my Clydesdale body around for 8 miles on Saturday. My marathoner-wife says, "I think sometimes you over-pronate, and you crossover the midline." (I just think I'm too fat still)

She sends me this L-O-N-G- but very interesting 12:44 min video.

Watch at least the first 5 minutes, where they dissect and critique the running form of superstars Ryan Hall, and Meb, and contrast them vs. the revered "Kenyans". Also, the animations are quite amusing too. Near the end, my attention span started to wane, my eyes glazed over, and I got the feeling they were selling some snake oil. But, the first 2/3 of the video was pretty fascinating. I think I do all these mistakes.



Here are my fast-n-dirty calculations:

1 marathon = 26,200 strides (multiply times each inefficient factor, like "Bounce/Drop")
(so, luckily, that's only 13,100 strides for my upcoming Half-Marathon)

For Ryan Hall:
1 marathon = 26,200 strides X an inefficient 4" bounce drop
= additional 3.3 grueling extra miles
= 6,812,000 lbs added impact

For Me:
(I figure I'm about 100lbs heavier than Ryan Hall)
= about 12,052,000 lbs added impact!!

No wonder my knee hurts!

I've seen marathoners like Ryan Hall run, and they look like awesome speedy gazelles to me. But, what the heck do I know? Is there truly one "perfect" running form? The concept of efficiency makes sense to me. It reminds me of the endless arguments for/against the "perfect golf swing". Or.. does everyone just have their own unique, Zen, discombobulated-but-works, golf swing? If anyone has read the book or seen the Will Smith/Matt Damon/Charlize Theron movie, "The Legend of Bagger Vance", you'll know where I'm coming from.

"Yep... Inside each and every one of us is one true authentic swing... Somethin' we was born with... Somethin' that's ours and ours alone... Somethin' that can't be taught to ya or learned... Somethin' that got to be remembered... Over time the world can, rob us of that swing... It get buried inside us under all our wouldas and couldas and shouldas... Some folk even forget what their swing was like..."

- The Legend of Bagger Vance

Does the elusive perfect golf swing or running form even exist? What do you think?

Listen to your heart..

... Listen to your heart..

There's nothing else you can do..

I don't know where you're going..

And I don't know why..

But listen to your heart..

 - Roxette, 1988

Ok, enough cheezy '80s music lyrics.

Good last medium run before next Sunday's Long Beach Half-Marathon!
I needed an encouraging run before taper.

Today, I decided to change my Run/Walk strategy. Previously, I was doing a fixed amount of running or jogging, and then a 1 minute walking interval. Like 5-minutes/1-minute. Today, I set HR alerts and ran without music.

    HR Max Alert:   160 bpm
    HR Min Alert:    135 bpm

Overall, I felt pretty strong. A milestone for me.. I actually ran a whole mile straight, without any walking rest interval (or dying, or legs falling off). For me, that's new. Also, finished the planned 8 miles with my best pace so far.. 13:27 min/mi

wow.. I still have a long way to go on my conditioning and my fitness base!

I guess I'm happy with this, especially with how sporadic my training has been and no running for the 3 weeks right after my Disneyland Half-Marathon.

Ok.. looking forward to the Long Beach Half-Marathon next Sunday!

Time to taper.. just 1 or 2 short runs, and mostly rowing and spinning this week.

Running a Marathon is like looking in a Mirror

My first Half-Marathon.. a PR!!

Run-Walked the Disneyland Half-Marathon on September 5, 2010. Started off good, and probably a bit too fast. Pretty nice marathon, except for all the industrial streets around Anaheim. Best part by far was running around the bases at Angel's Stadium and seeing yourself on the JumboTron TV. (I, of course, missed this sublime moment because of the acute pain shooting down my legs). My wife, the "real" Marathoner in the family, finished the race and circled back to collect what was left of her husband. She caught up to me around mile 10, when I was really starting to hurt. Around mile 12, I was doubting I could finish. Another back-of-the-pack'er trotted by me. She stops and looks back and trots back to me. Asks if I'm ok, and fishes into her fanny pack to give me a packet of icy massage gel. I thank her, and my wife rips it open and starts rubbing my calves and quads. Wow.. what a relief!! Thank you and good karma to the good samaritan runner who came back to aid the fallen. Maybe it was just the break from running (limping).. anyways, I felt rejuvenated to run another few feet until hobbled again. I hobbled across the finish line, but tried to look better for my first-ever FINISH PHOTO.

My first PR:   3:14.12



The days and weeks after the marathon were rough.. but that is for another post.

In brief, I was saddled with a weird left thigh (quad) hematoma that was very painful and took about 4-weeks to recover. I've had it before (even worse), so it might have been due to a chronic blood-thinner medicine I take, and perhaps unrelated to my 13.1 miles. But, I needed to make a brutally honest assessment of myself, .. my health, my running, and my priorities. I came to the conclusion that at my current size, the long running feels great afterwards, but kind of wrecks my body for longer than I'd like.

I still maintain my goal to run the LA Marathon with my wife (or at least start the Marathon with her). But I will probably push back to 2012, as I really do not have the game for 2011 (less than 200 days away!). My wife, on the other hand, seems to be the type to remain uninjured and able to do several marathons a year. I'm not that kind of runner (yet?). I'm taking a long look at Triathlons, especially the Sprint and Olympic distances for now (not to mention Relays). Triathlons just seem to be less impact on my Clydesdale body than long distance running alone.

Next up for me..  Long Beach Half-Marathon  October 17, 2010

3.25mi Training Run/Walk

Met a local running group tonight. What a fun & positive group of people! Got too caught up in the group run frenzy and started out WAY too fast.. and burned out quick. Had to walk much of the rest, and only did the 3.25 loop when my anterior shins and left knee & hip started to hurt. Grrr... wish I had just stuck to my original paced walk/run plan. But still.. it was FUN!!

2010 LA Marathon

So how many times does one have to think "I really need to get off the couch and start running.."
before you actually DO IT?

My wife was a runner, and put that on hold while she popped out 3 awesome kids in 6 years, and then picked up running again, seriously.. about 2 years ago. She ran the LB Half last Oct 2009 and smoked an impressive 3:57:00. Set her sights upon the LA Marathon, which was not as satisfying for her. She ended up being a bit distracted, and fell off of some of her training runs, esp the long runs. Also, not mentally as tough, or logistically as prepared as she was for Long Beach (no Gel, no lytes? Why?!).
Result.. a very respectable 4:21:00 (but a drop in performance for her).

Regardless, the vibe at Mile 26 was electrifying, and watching her finish was inspiring.

Then, all the Twitter race reports via @LAMarathon started pouring into my Droid.. including an excellent video from @GMJones00 , aka TheRunningFatGuy here on Blogger. His race report.. was the BEST .. especially because he was not some lean, wiry, ex-Olympian regaling his sub-2:30 race.. He was just a local guy, living life, fighting the battle-of-the-bulge, trying to balance family, work, health, and life in general .. just like you and me.

A worthwhile read.. and you have to watch his video:
I'm Still in a Haze - LA Marathon Race Report by TheRunningFat Guy

Here's a link to go right to his full video recap:
   CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

So, thanks to my wife & the FatGuy, for getting me off the couch. It's been 6 out of 7 days running now, and I already feel healthier. Gotta get up for the Seal Beach 5K/10K. Also, thanks FatGuy for duping me into adding yet another distraction to my life.. blogging.

More to come..

GPS GarminConnect

So the Blogger Share function on GarminConnect just plugs in a boring link. How dull..
Here's a screen capture of my 3mi run/walk the other day. I was trying out the run/walk
strategy, mostly walking briskly, but running across intersections and short distances. Pace is depicted on the blue up-n-down graph, the elevation is superimposed in green. My HR seemed to stay mostly in Zone 3, despite much walking. I need to improve that cardiac conditioning.. STAT!

To Blog, or Not to Blog

As if Facebook, Twitter, and several email accounts weren't enough!

After watching my awesome wife finish the amazing 2010 L.A. Marathon.. for the last 6 days, I've been trying to nurture and feed my fledgling enthusiasm for running.

More details about me and my motivations later...

But in brief, I want to track and post my progress as I work towards a few important life goals:

(1) lose weight

(2) be committed to exercise, healthier eating, and being healthy

(3) eventually finish a Marathon, for the purposes of (1) and (2) above

Hopefully, this blog will chronicle this quest, and keep me motivated and accountable.  We shall see..